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Follow Lenovo’s lead, Acer has just announced their own line of consumer-focused Chromebooks that will go easy on the wallet. In a world where flagship Chrome devices are now going toe-to-toe with MacBook pricing, the new Acer family will begin at $249 and offer a wide variety of configurations to meet most user’s needs.
If you’re interested, Acer’s live stream from Berlin aired at 4:30 EDT this morning as CEO Jason Chen took the stage in usual fashion to discuss what’s new with the PC giant. The new Chromebooks are discussed at roughly the six minute mark but there’s plenty of good stuff to see if you want to check it out in your free time.
Acer Chromebook 315
Like Lenovo, Acer has launched a budget 15.6″ that features a numeric keypad. The Acer Chromebook 315 can be configured with up-to an Intel Pentium N5000, 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. You’ll also get a FullHD 1920 x 1080 IPS display with optional touch.
The Acer Chromebook 315 will be available in the EMEA in October starting at EUR 329 and in North America in December, starting at USD 279.99. I will say, well done on the bezels Acer. Let’s keep honing them down, shall we?
Acer Chromebook 314
Like the 315, the 14″ Chromebook 314 brings a FullHD display to the party but your processor options are limited to the Gemini Lake N4000 and N4100 from Intel. You can still get 8GB of RAM which should make this a formidable device in the budget category. Essentially, the 314 is only sacrificing the numeric keypad and a little bit of screen real estate although 64GB is the max for storage on this model.
The Acer Chromebook 14 will be available in EMEA in October starting at EUR 299 and in North America in December, starting at USD 279.99. Before you ask, neither of these models are listed with a backlit keyboard and I don’t suspect they wil have this feature at the price point we’re seeing.
Acer Chromebook 311
Adding to their expansive 11.6″ resume, the Acer Chromebook 311 is a traditional clamshell that offers the same N4000 or N4100 processors but is limited to 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. You’ll get 2 x USB-C, 2 x USB 3.1 and a MicroSD card slot. Oh yeah, these devices also feature the much-anticipated Bluetooth 5.0 which will hopefully make for a greatly improved connectivity experience.
The Acer Chromebook 311 will be available in EMEA in October starting at EUR 249 and in North America in December, starting at USD 249.99.
Acer Chromebook Spin 311
Last but not least, Acer has produced yet-another 11.6″ convertible with rugged specs and optional stylus. The Spin 311 features anti-microbial Corning Gorillia Glass and a spill-resistant keyboard. Like its predecessors, it has reinforced hinges and chassis that’s designed with students in mind.
The 360-degree Chromebook comes with an HD touch display and weighs in at a very respectable 2.62 lbs. The bezels are chunky like models before it but that is par for the course when we’re looking at smaller devices that are built to withstand a little abuse. The Acer Chromebook Spin 311 will be available in the EMEA in October starting at EUR 329 and in North America in December, starting at USD 329.99.
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Source: Acer
